


Back-to-Back

by thistlethorns



Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: (sort of) Pre-slash, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cap-Ironman Bingo, Handcuffed Together, M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-08 03:25:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6837139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thistlethorns/pseuds/thistlethorns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve meets his partner in (righteous) crime for the first time as they're handcuffed to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back-to-Back

**Author's Note:**

> This counts as my fill for the "handcuffed together" square on my bingo card. It's actually something of a vignette from a longer fic of this AU that I have planned; think of it as a pilot episode of sorts.

"You know, this wasn't how I ever imagined getting to meet you."

Tony huffs out a laugh. The movement presses his back to Steve's, ever so briefly.

"I bet you had all sorts of fantasies of meeting me," says Tony, letting his voice take on a practiced vocal leer.

"Oh yes," says Steve, continuing in the same bland tone as before, as though he's commenting on something as banal as the weather. There's a light tug on the cuffs binding them together, followed by some wiggling that would be delightful if Tony were in any situation to enjoy it. "Some of them were quite naughty, too. Like the one in which we meet at a coffee shop."

Tony laughs again, momentarily distracted from his covert attempts to pick the lock on the cuffs. 

"Your laugh sounds nicer without the electronic filters," says Steve. His voice is downright flirty now. "You're also a lot nicer to look at than your little Shellhead avatar."

Tony bites back a grin, still hyper-aware of the blinking camera in the corner of their makeshift cell. "You're not so bad to look at yourself, Rogers," he says instead, leaning back against Steve. From the camera's angle, all it will get is flirty body language, but the cover gives Tony more room to move his hands in. Steve seems to have picked up on Tony's intention, because he leans ever so slightly to the side, so that they fit more closely together on the side with the camera, completely blocking their hands from view. His back is a broad strip of warmth down Tony's left side.

"See, you've been telling me that for almost a year now," says Steve, "and I've been saying what a pity it was that I couldn't return the compliment. Now I can sincerely say that you're gorgeous, and it won't be just flattery."

"But flattery got you a lot of things," Tony says. "Shiny new gear and lots of second chances, for one."

"The gear didn't come from my flattery," snorts Steve. "I got them because you love tinkering."

Tony makes a noise that vaguely signifies agreement. In the next second, the cuffs are off, and his hands start regaining some feeling. He can feel Steve flexing his own hands, and the muscles in his shoulders tensing. He can tell Steve is about half a second from getting up and trying to pummel his way out of captivity, so he swiftly grabs Steve's hands and hold them down. Steve goes still.

"You remember that case we worked when we were just starting out as partners?" Tony asks blithely, while his grip on Steve's hands loosens slightly. He doesn't move his hands away. "The one where you scared the shit out of me by jumping off that third-floor ledge?"

"I remember," says Steve, and bless him, he's playing along. "I only got stuck out there in the first place because I was impatient."

"Mm. I told you I had the guards' rotation down, but you wouldn't believe me." There are rotating guards outside their cell now, and by Tony's calculation, the next change is due in under two minutes.

Steve chuckles. He was right, laughter  _does_  sound nicer in person. "Teething problems. We didn't trust each other much back then."

"Do you trust me now?"

"I do," says Steve, his voice low and sincere, a contrast with his playful flirting earlier. "It took me a while to get used to the faceless, nameless voice giving me orders, but you've never led me wrong."

"Except that time with the fax machine," Tony says absently. "But hey, I wasn't nameless. I told you my name after three months."

"Yes, and before that, I had to receive my instructions from a red and gold robot avatar called Iron Man. I don't even know if you were telling the truth when you told me your name."

"It is," Tony says in mock outrage. "And there you said you trusted me." There are faint, additional footsteps outside the cell. A minute shift in Steve's posture shows that he's noticed it too.

Tony leans more heavily on Steve. He turns so that his mouth is out of sight from the camera, his lips inches from Steve's ear. He can feel Steve taking a sharp breath from where they're pressed up against each other.

"Go for the camera as soon as I move," murmurs Tony. "I'll get the door."

"Fine, but I get the goons," says Steve.

Twenty minutes later, they stroll out of the compound. Steve's knuckles are bloody, but he's otherwise unharmed. He beams at Tony.

"Another successful mission," he says, and Tony gives in to the urge to laugh.

"We bulldozed our way through the guys we were supposed to be _covertly_  stealing from, I got flushed out of my secret tech lair, and we broke our cardinal rule of never meeting face-to-face. How was this in any way a success?" asks Tony. 

"We got what we set out to find," says Steve, pointing at the flash drive in Tony's hand, "and we got out of the situation without any major damage. That's already not a failure, by my estimation."

Tony rolls his eyes. "You just like the idea of me having to crash at your place because mine got trashed."

"You've already seen it through all your creepy spy cams," mutters Steve. "Now you get to see it in person."

Tony hesitates.

"This isn't how this job works, Steve." He moves the flash drive deftly between his fingers, balancing it on his knuckles in the same dexterity exercise he's been doing since he first met a keyboard. He pointedly does not look at Steve. "We have rules. You're the runner, I'm the hacker, and we don't—we don't interact beyond mission parameters. That's what we agreed on. That's how it's supposed to work."

"Tony, we've been interacting beyond mission parameters for _months_ ," says Steve exasperatedly. "Or are you going to deny all knowledge of the petty squabbling and flirting we do over the comms every time we're on a mission?"

Tony manages a little smile at that. "Not denying anything, sweetpea. I'm proud of some of those lines. But it's still not a good idea."

Steve shakes his head. Then he says, "It's your turn, Tony. Do you trust me?"

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I typed this out entirely on my phone. My thumbs hurt.
> 
> I'm [kienu](http://kienu.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. Come say hi!


End file.
